Force-lasted stitchdown shoe



July 8, 1958 1.. SILLMAN ETAL FORCE-LASTED STITCHDOWN HOE 5 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Oct. 5, 1955 July 8, 1958 L. SILLMAN ETAL FORCE-LASTEDSTITCHDOWN SHOE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1955 y 8, 1958 L. SlLLMANETl'AL FORCE-LASTED STITCHDOWN SHOE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 001;. 5, 1955FIG. 6.

FDRCE-LASTED STIlTCE-IDQWN SHQE Application October 5, 1955, Serial No.538,665

2 Claims. (Cl. lib-16) The present invention relates to making shoesparticularly ladies shoes of the type customarily referred to as walkingshoes. As the invention is especially applicable to the manufacture ofladies walking shoes having toes and backs, it will be described withreferences to shoes of that type.

It is an object of the present invention to make a shoe which isflexible and lightweight and is yet of sturdy, long wearingconstruction. A further object of the in vention is to produceserviceable and comfortable walking shoes that lit the foot snugly andhave a neat light-looking appearance. The invention further provides aninn proved method of manufacture whereby quality shoes can be prcducedat a lower cost.

The nature, objects and advantages of the invention will be more fullyunderstood from the following description and claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment. Inthe drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an upper of a shoe embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 2--2 inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a preassembled insoleoutsole unit.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating one step of tions only. Theinsole 1 has a ball portion 3 formed of a cushion material for example,a cork composition and a shank portion 4 and a heel portion 5 formedintegrally of a bendable, yet firm and relatively hard material forexample, fiber board or leather. The shank and ball portions areadhesively joined in a V-type dove tail 6 so that the entire insole isessentially of integral construction. Edges of the shank and heelportions of the insole are finished with a stitched-on binding Theoutsole 2 is formed flexible, firm wear-resisting material for example,leather or a plastic or rubber composition and comprises a ball portion8, shank portion 9 and a tonguelike heel portion it? of reduced width.The insole and outsole are united only at the toe and forward portion ofthe ball, the rear ball portions and shank portions being left free. Theball portion of the outsole is larger than that of the insole andprojects beyond the edges of the insole approximately to inch. The shankportions of the insole and outsole are approximately the same width. Acover it of upper material, for example leather, fabric or plastic,overlies the toe portion of the insole and the forwardly projecting toeportion of the outsole.

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An upper 13 (Fig. l) is fabricated from suitable upper material forexample leather, fabric or plastic accurately cut to pattern andcomprises a vamp portion 14 and quarter portions 15. The upper is shownas being fabricated from two main pieces of material joined by a strip17. A heel strap 18 attached to the rear of one of the pieces isreceived by a buckle 19 mounted on the upper rear portion of the otherpiece. Edges of the upper that are exposed in the completed shoe aresuitably finished, for example by stitched binding 26. The upperpreferably has a lining 21 (Fig. 7) and heel lining 22. (Fig. 4) formedof fabric, light leather or other suitable material. The quarterportions of the upper are cut to provide a lasting allowance 23 (seealso Figs. 5 and 8). The vamp portion 14, on the contrary, has nolasting allowance, opposite side edges 24 being cut accurately topattern so that in the completed shoe (Fig. 7) they abut the upper faceof the outsole 2 without being turned out wardly or lasted inwardly.

The upper further comprises mudguard strips 25 (Figs. 1 and 2) securedto the opposite side edge portions of the vamp 14.. The mudguard strips25 extend from the open toe 26 to the junction of the vamp 14 withquarter portions 15 and are accurately cut from suitable upper material,being substantially straight and of uniform width except fortapered rearend portions 27 The strips 25 overly side edge portions of the vamp 14and are securely united with the vamp, for example by adhesive and bystitching 28. The outer edges 29 of the mudguard strips 25 projectapproximately 4 inch beyond the lateral edges 24 of the vamp, it beingunderstood that this distance may vary by perhaps /a inch according tothe particular style and size of the shoe being made. in cutting themudguard strips 25, a slit 3% is formed approximately /2 inch from therear end of the strip and extends inwardly from the outer edge 29 toapproximately the respective lateral edge 24 of the vamp. The mudguardstrips 25 are unlined.

The upper 13 including the attached mudguard strips 25 as illustrated inFig. l, is next assembled with the insole-outsole unit shown in Fig. 3.To facilitate assembly of the upper and sole units, the inner faces ofthe projecting mudguard strips .25 and the upper surfaces of theprojecting outsole portions are coated with a hesive to make them tacky.The projecting portions of the guard strips forward of the slits 30 arebent outwardly and pressed into place along the outwardly projectingedge portions of the sole so as to hold the upper temporarily in placeon the sole unit as illustrated in Fig. 4. The sole is provided withnicks to indicate where to place the upper. The vamp portion of theupper is then permanently attached to the ball portion of the sole bystitching 32 which passes through the outsole and the outturned edgeportions of the mudguard strips 255 and extends from one of the slits 30forwardly, across the toe and then rearwardly to the other of the slitsslits 39 are thus defined in the beginning and ending stitching andfacilitate the stitching operation. it \vii. noted that at the toe ofthe shoe, the stitching 32 passes through the forward portion of thematerial Itfi covering the toe portions of the insole and outsole,thereby further securing the covering material. As the edges of the vampportion 14 and lining 21 are not turned outwardly and stitched to theoutsole with the guard strip 25, the edge of the sole and the finishedshoe has a lighter, neater appearance and no moisture can soak inthrough the lining since the edge of the lining is not exposed.Moreover, since the vamp portion of the upper is not lasted, the ballportions of the outsole and insole are not separated by lastingallowances of the upper but come directly together to provide a smooth,flat, lightweight and flexible construction. However, the edges 24 ofthe vamp are not exposed but are held between the guard strips 25 andthe edges of the insole 1. The insole is sufiiciently thick, for exampleA; inch, to form with the mudguard strips a recess to receive the edgesof the vamp. The inside of the upper as well as the sole thus presents asmooth surface which contributes to the wearers corn fort.

The upper and sole unit are assembled and stitched together asillustrated in Fig. 4 without lasting. A last L is then inserted in thepartially completed shoe and the shank portion of the insole istemporarily tacked to the last. The lasting allowances 23 of the quarterportions of the upper are then cement-lasted over the shank portion ofthe insole (Fig. 5) the shank portion of the outsole being bent up outof the way so that it does not interfere with the lasting operation. Thelasting of the instep portion of the upper makes it possible to shapethe shoe accurately to the last and obtain a much better fit than ispossible with conventional stitched-down shoes. in stitched-down shoes,it is difficult to obtain proper lit and prevent bulging of the upperparticularly in the shank portion of the shoe. This difiiculty isovercome by the method in accordance with the invention since thelasting of the quarter portion assures accurate molding of the upper.Moreover, by eliminating in the shank portion of the shoe, the laterallyprojecting sole and out-turned edges of the upper that are typical ofstitched-down construc tion, it is possible to reduce the width of theshank and give it a trim, smart appearance. As seen in Fig. 8, the shankportions of the insole and outsole are of substantially the same width.Although the lasting allowance 23 of the quarter portion of the upper isinterposed between the insole and outsole, the material is of singlethickness and does not objectionably thicken the shank portion of theshoe.

In the operation of lasting, the quarter portions of the upper, the rearend portions 27 of the mudguard strips are brought in over the insole sothat they point inwardly toward one another in a direction transverse tothe length of the shoe, and approximately perpendicular to the edges ofthe sole. The rear end portions of the guard strips are secured inplace, preferably by adhesive and are securely held between the insoleand the outsole. The bringing of the rear end portions of the mudguardstrips in toward one another at rear of the ball portion of the shoe asshown and described, further assists in shaping the upper in theimportant transition zone where the quarter portion merges into thevamp. It further assists in giving the shoe a neat and streamlinedappearance and increases its strength and durability. The slits 30 inthe mudguard strips provide a safe transition from one type ofconstruction to the other, avoiding the possibility of strain andbreakage.

The inturned rear end portions 27 of the mudguard strips 25 and thelasted edge portions 23 of the upper are then roughened, a steel orother shank reinforcing the strip 33 (Fig. 8) is placed between theshank portions of the insole and outsole and the rear ball and shankportions of the outsole is cemented down using a press. If a wedge heelis to be used, no reinforcing shank is required. The shoe is preferablyleft on the last 2 or 3 days to become molded to the last. A heel 34(Fig. 6) is then affixed to the heel portions of the insole and outsole,the tongue-like portion 10 of the outsole being received in a recess inthe heel. Sponge rubber padding 35 (Fig. 8) is positioned to cover theheel and shank portions of the insole and a sock lining 36 is cementedin place.

The shoes made in accordance with the invention have a dressy appearanceand yet are extremely serviceable and comfortable to wear. They thushelp to resolve the dilemma with'whic'h women have long been faced as towear shoes that are comfortable or shoes that are stylish.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has ,been shown anddescribed, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that themethod and construction in accordance with the invention can be used toproduce a considerable variety of shoes. The invention is thus not limited to the particular embodiment shown by way of example in thedrawing.

What We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. A shoecomprising an upper having vamp and quarter portions, said quarterportions only having lasting allowances, mudguard strips secured toopposite side or gas of said vamp portion and projecting approximatelyone quarter inch beyond the edges of the vamp, said strips extendingfrom the toe to the junction of said vamp and quarter portions andprovided with a slit a short distance forwardly of the rear end of eachof said strips, said slits extending inwardly from the edges of saidstrips to the edges of said vamp portion, an outsole having forepart andshank portions, an insole having forepart, shank and heel portions, theforepart of the insole affixed directly to the forepart only of theoutsole, the lateral edges of the forepart of the outsole projectingoutwardly beyond the edges of the insole, said mudguard strips havinglower edge portions extending from the toe rearwarclly to said slitsturned outwardly and stitched to the projecting edge portions of saidoutsole, the side edge of said vamp portion abutting the upper face ofthe outsole and held be tween the mudguard strips and the side edges ofthe insole, the portions of said strips rearwardly of said slits and thelasting allowances of said quarter portions turned inwardly and securedbetween the shank portions of the insole and outsole to shape the shankportion of the shoe smoothly to the contour of the shank of a selectedlast, the rear ends of said mudguard strips pointing inwardly toward oneanother in a direction transverse to the length of the shoe.

2. A shoe comprising an upper, insole, outsole and heel, said upperhaving a vamp portion and opposite quarter portions, said vamp portionhaving a transverse toe edge and lower side edges that extend rearwardlyfrom said too edge and diverge laterally outwardly, said quarterportions having lower side edges extending re..rivardly at an angle ofthe order of from the rear end portions of the lower side edges of saidvamp portion and con verging laterally inwardly, the lower edges of saidvamp and quarter portions thus defining a corner at their junction, saidupper having a slit provided in each of the lower edges thereof a shortdistance forwardly of said corner, said slits extending inwardly fromsaid edges, said outsole having forepart and shank portions, and said insole having fo-repart, shank and heel portions, the forepart of theinsole throughout its width adhesively aitixed directly to the forepartonly of the outsole, the lateral edges of the forepart of the outsoleprojecting laterally outwardly beyond the lateral edges of the insole,said upper having its opposite lower edge portions from said toe edge tosaid slits turned outwardly and stitched to the projecting lateral edgeportions of the outsole, the quarter portions of said upper rearwardlyof said slits having lower edge portions lasted inwardly and adhesiverysecured between the shank portions of said insole and out sole, saidshoe having its shank and quarter portions smoothly shaped to the shankof a selected last, and portions connecting the rear of one of saidquarter portions with the rear of the other of said quarter portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

